All my fish just died?

Question

I had six small tropical fish, I added another 4, and moved them all into a new, larger tank. They then died.

I took the water from the old tank, added it to the new one.

I bought new gravel, washed it with tap water.

I filled the rest of the tank up with tap water.

I moved the fish into the new tank, and within an hour, they were all dead.

The water had been treated with anti-chlorine fluid.

Any suggestions as to why the died, as I'm clueless as to why?

Answer 1

Your old tank probably had a virus in it. When you added the old water to the new water it may have transferred the virus to your water. Another reason is that even though you de-chlorined the new water you have to let the water set out for 24 hours. I had a problem where I bought a betta. I thought using purified water would be best for it.... I guess the water was too clean for it.... Poor Zeus.....

Answer 2

Sometimes fish can die of shock.  Even a new environment could do it.  Also, the new tank could be a different temp to the old one.

Answer 3

I have a theory, the gravel could have had toxic chemicals on it, my sister bought new gravel for her fish tank and within 2 hours it died. She washed the gravel for about 15-20 minutes. The water and gravel smelt like nail polish.

It could also be shock however, but usualy that only happens with drastic temperature and water quality changes, not having a LARGER tank than previously, and since you had same water I don't see this as an issue.

Answer 4

The temperature from Tank A to Tank B may have made the difference. Even a few degrees may have the capability to add to much stress on the fish; resulting in death. If I were you, I would've measured the water temperature, placed the fish in a holding tank with the same temperature, created the new tank measured the temperature then added the fish. You also could have waited to add the new fish until the first fish had adjusted to the new tank. That probably didn't make a drastic difference, but perhaps contributed.  

Answer 5

The water might have been aged but your gravel did not have any cultures in it.

Let the tank set for 2 weeks with no fish. Take some of your water and have your local pet store test it, or buy the tests yourself to test it.

This should let you know if its safe for fish yet.

In the past I always used a small feeder goldfish to speed the process of the cultures in the gravel.

You have to find a home for the goldfish when it has established as goldfish and tropicals do not mix

Answer 6

The same thing happened to me- there must have been something different in the new water that the fish couldn't adapt too. Maybe just different water temperature, or there was something in the new tap water the fish could not adapt to.

Instead of just flat-out putting the fish in the water, even if you mixed the water, you should have bagged the fish, and let the bags sit inside of the tank inside their bags for about an hour. It would allow the fish to get use to the new water temperature and chemicals without killing them.

Answer 7

did you cycle your tank?

if your filter does not contain the correct types of bacteria it will not work properly you need to cycle it and this could take a week minimum using live bacteria. beneficial bacteria is vital in your tank it helps breaks down fish waste.

also before adding fish to a tank let the tank sit for a few days and check all your water chemistry is correct and where it should be.

you need to make sure your water is up to the correct temperature about 25C for a tropical fish to live well in and this will take a few hours for the filter to heat up a tank of water and also calibrating the heater also takes a while.

also when you add fish to a new tank put them in plastic bags with water from the current tank their in just like how you get them from a pet shop and then float the bags, add 2 cups of water from the new tank into the bags and then introduce the fish to the new tank. if you net it out from one tank to the other it will shock them because of sudden water chemistry and temperature change.

i hoped all this helped you see what you have done wrong and good luck in the future :)

Answer 8

you should quarantine your fish before putting them in your main tank, the new ones could of had a disease which now has spread to the others causing a tank wipe out.Have you tested the water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? if the first too are high then this could also be why and maybe even nitrate being high too can shock them.

also it would of been a could idea to take the media out of your old tank and put it in the new one. that is the sponges in the filters. then all the new water you put in the tank for get all the good bacteria from your old one.

Answer 9

Did you turn on the oxygen bubbles?

All our fish at work died as someone accidently unplugged them to plug in a laptop...! poor buggers.

Answer 10

blimey you must be gutted. why dont you take a sample of the water for testing to see if something was wrong. good pet shops should offer a testing service or you can buy a kit. better luck next time.

Answer 11

Sounds like stress to me. Basically when you moved the fish from the old aquarium the water parameters must of been different to the new aquarium though you might not notice the temperature difference etc..this is a huge difference to your fish. When fish get scared they're bodies loose salts etc..causing their immune system to fail etc...making them saceptable to diseases...add aquarium salt to the aquarium until the water can take no more in...read packaging label to get an accurate dossage. if the water contains more salt than the fish, then the fish cannot loose salt. SAFE! but they might just be a lil shocked

sorry 4 ur loss

Leon

Answer 12

Had you cycled your tank, was it a new filter or your old one

Had you left your heater in long enough to obtain the right temperature

When you set up a new tank even after it's been cycled you should only add a few fish every few weeks to allow the bacteria that feeds on waste to build up.

Answer 13

Sucks. That happened to me too!

Answer 14

1. It could be that the water was either too warm or too cold.

2. Could be that there was a bacteria in the water.

Answer 15

Could be a lot of things

Temperature, you should have used some of the water from the old take with the new water, too much chemicals,next time buy yourself an oversized filter. some fish are too exotic so stay away from those kind. Ask the people from the fish store what to do.